The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, becoming a disciple of Yue Buqun.

Linghu Chong nodded, then sheathed his sword and went to Yue Buqun's side.

His face was filled with emotion at that moment.

Over this period of time, he felt that Yue Buqun had changed a lot. He had become more patient with him and no longer scolded him at the drop of a hat. He had even passed on the Zixia Divine Skill and all the Five Mountains Sword Techniques to him, which moved him deeply.

To repay Yue Buqun, Linghu Chong practiced swordsmanship and martial arts with great effort. Although Yue Buqun didn't say anything, he always had a faint smile on his face.

Looking at the spirited Linghu Chong before him, Yue Buqun's eyes revealed a hint of satisfaction.

Linghu Chong's talent goes without saying. He just wasn't working hard before. Now he has changed his past laziness and is very diligent, making rapid progress.

Yue Buqun saw it all.

"you……"

Yue Buqun seemed to want to say something, but hesitated for a moment.

"what?"

Linghu Chong looked somewhat confused, unsure of what Yue Buqun wanted to say.

Yue Buqun recalled Jiang Ning's words, in which Jiang Ning advised him to give more recognition to Linghu Chong.

However, Yue Buqun has always been seen by his disciples as a stern and authoritative father who never says anything to praise them, and of course, he himself cannot say such things, especially to Linghu Chong.

At this moment, Yue Buqun thought of what Jiang Ning had said.

The eldest brother regarded his master as a father, and he also longed for his master's care and praise.

Yue Buqun took a deep breath and slowly smiled at Linghu Chong: "Chong'er, you did very well."

"what?"

Linghu Chong looked somewhat bewildered.

Yue Buqun added, "You have indeed worked very hard during this time. I have seen your efforts and I am very happy."

Linghu Chong was stunned.

"Master..."

Linghu Chong looked at Yue Buqun muttering to himself, with an expression of disbelief.

Now that he had already said it, Yue Buqun was no longer embarrassed and continued, "I was too harsh on you before because you were my eldest disciple. Among all my fellow disciples, you were the first to enter the sect and were the eldest brother. Naturally, I had high expectations for you and hoped that you could fulfill the responsibilities of the eldest brother and act with integrity."

With each word Yue Buqun spoke, Linghu Chong's eyes reddened further, until finally, tears streamed down his face uncontrollably.

Upon hearing Yue Buqun's last words, Linghu Chong finally couldn't hold back his tears, his voice choked with emotion.

"It's all my fault. I didn't understand Master's good intentions and often caused trouble for Master and the sect. I was wrong."

Large tears fell from Linghu Chong's face.

Yue Buqun couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

Perhaps his previous methods of teaching Linghu Chong were wrong.

"Alright, a man doesn't easily shed tears."

Yue Buqun patted Linghu Chong on the shoulder and said gently.

Linghu Chong nodded vigorously, wiping away the tears on his face.

Seeing his appearance, Yue Buqun's eyes also held a strange emotion.

After a while.

Yue Buqun said with a sigh.

"Perhaps I was too strict with you in the past and didn't care enough about you, which made you give up on yourself. I also bear responsibility for this."

Linghu Chong stood there stunned, as if struck by lightning.

Seeing him like this, Yue Buqun said, "Go back and eat quickly," and turned to leave, but a little while later...

"Master!!!"

Linghu Chong's loud shout rang out behind him, so loud that Yue Buqun couldn't help but turn around and see Linghu Chong rushing towards him.

Just as Yue Buqun thought Linghu Chong was about to say something, Linghu Chong suddenly lunged forward, grabbed his leg, and started wailing.

"Master~~~"

Linghu Chong burst into tears, clinging to Yue Buqun's leg and refusing to let go, crying his heart out.

how many years.

He was orphaned at a young age and was taken to the mountain by Yue Buqun, who raised him. He always regarded Yue Buqun as his father and wanted to gain Yue Buqun's approval.

In the past, Yue Buqun had only scolded and expressed dissatisfaction towards him, never praising him, let alone acknowledging him like this. He originally thought that Yue Buqun's praise would be enough to move him, but he did not expect that Yue Buqun would actually admit his shortcomings in front of him, which directly broke Linghu Chong's defenses.

Linghu Chong could no longer hold back and burst into tears, clinging to Yue Buqun's leg as if he wanted to cry out all the grievances he had held for so many years.

"Waaaaaah..."

Linghu Chong cried his heart out, burying his head in Yue Buqun's robes, his snot and tears covering Yue Buqun's clothes.

Looking at the filth covering his body, Yue Buqun's brows twitched uncontrollably, and his eyes twitched incessantly.

Yue Buqun tried to move, only to find that Linghu Chong was clinging tightly to his leg and wouldn't let go.

Yue Buqun took a deep breath, resisting the urge to strike Linghu Chong, and said gently, "Alright, the ground is cold, get up quickly."

"Master~ Master~~"

Linghu Chong thought Yue Buqun was concerned about him, so he cried even harder.

Yue Buqun closed his eyes, took a deep breath, bent down and tried to pull Linghu Chong up by his arm, but when he tried, he found that he couldn't lift him up.

As Yue Buqun watched Linghu Chong bury his head in his robes, wiping himself repeatedly, with snot, tears, and other filth spreading to other areas, veins bulged on his forehead.

Suppressing the urge to teach Linghu Chong a lesson, Yue Buqun pulled him up, frowning and saying unhappily, "You're such a grown man, yet you're crying so pathetically. We martial artists have never known what tears are."

"As the senior disciple of the Huashan Sect, you should set a good example for the younger disciples and stop crying all the time."

"Don't let your teacher see this on your face again."

Upon hearing this, Linghu Chong immediately wiped away the tears on his face.

"Yes, Master!"

Seeing his expression, Yue Buqun didn't know what else to say and shook his head.

"Go and clean your face before you eat."

Yue Buqun told Linghu Chong to go to the canteen first, while he went back to his room to change his clothes.

When Yue Buqun arrived at the canteen, he found that the disciples were already eating. Yue Buqun usually ate in his room and only occasionally ate with the disciples, so he told the Huashan disciples not to wait for him.

With the addition of the few disciples who have been disciples for over a year, the Huashan Sect now has more than forty disciples.

Linghu Chong sat in the main seat, chatting and boasting with his junior brothers, occasionally making some funny gestures that made them laugh out loud.

On the other side, Jiang Ning and Lin Pingzhi sat at a table. Lin Pingzhi was eating while asking Jiang Ning questions about practicing martial arts. He looked very serious, and Jiang Ning patiently answered his questions.

Besides Lin Pingzhi, other Huashan disciples also asked Jiang Ning for advice on martial arts and swordsmanship. Jiang Ning would often answer their questions before he had even finished his meal.

On the other side, Jiang Ning's junior disciples were sitting properly at the table eating.

During this period, Yue Buqun entrusted Jiang Ning with the task of teaching his junior disciples.

Jiang Ning has been extremely busy lately.

However, Jiang Ning took this matter very seriously. After his guidance, the thoughts of these junior disciples gradually gravitated towards Jiang Ning. As they spent more time with Jiang Ning, they unconsciously began to learn from him, studying his usual words and actions, his philosophy, and his attitude.

Looking at the lively yet harmonious scene in the canteen, Yue Buqun couldn't help but smile.

Chapter 96: The Dark Past Cannot Be Retrieved

December.

It's snowing heavily.

The entire Mount Hua was covered in snow.

Despite the cold weather, the atmosphere at the Huashan Sect was joyful.

"Come a little closer, a little closer, a little higher, um... like this."

The back room.

Yue Buqun nodded.

Liang Fa and Gao Genming were standing on a ladder, carefully hanging a plaque on the beam.

"Sword energy soaring to the heavens?"

Jiang Ning stood next to Yue Buqun and silently read aloud the four characters on the plaque.

The plaque that used to hang in the hall, which read "Controlling the sword with Qi," was replaced by Yue Buqun.

Upon hearing Jiang Ning's voice, Yue Buqun did not turn around, but smiled slightly: "The soaring sword qi was the original tenet of our Huashan Sect. After the sword qi contest, our Qi Sect won, so we changed the plaque here to 'Controlling the sword with qi'. Now that I think about it, whether it is our Qi Sect or the Sword Sect, we were wrong."

The mistake he was referring to wasn't that the Qi Sect's philosophy was wrong, but that the sword-qi conflict of that year was wrong.

If it weren't for that sword energy dispute, the Huashan Sect would undoubtedly be even more glorious today.

The sword-qi battle twenty-five years ago caused heavy losses to the Huashan Sect, and the consequences lingered for decades. Whenever Yue Buqun thought of this, he couldn't help but sigh.

"Master no longer considers greatswords to be heretical?"

Jiang Ning looked at Yue Buqun.

Upon hearing this, Yue Buqun lowered his eyes and remained silent. After a moment, he smiled.

"Actually, whether you emphasize Qi or swordsmanship, it all depends on your personal preference. In the end, they all lead to the same goal. Back when my Huashan Sect didn't have the distinction between swordsmanship and Qi, the disciples could practice either swordsmanship or Qi cultivation. It was so harmonious back then, and everyone was united in fighting against the Demonic Sect."

Perhaps it's because he's getting old, or perhaps it's because he's gained new perspectives after experiencing a new phase. Although Yue Buqun looks like a middle-aged man now, he's actually almost sixty years old. He feels heartbroken every time he thinks about the past.

Jiang Ning comforted him, saying, "The darkness of the past cannot be undone, but the road ahead is bright and promising. Since what happened has already occurred, and the circumstances were beyond Master's control, Master need not feel too sorry."

"Realize that the past cannot be changed, but know that the future can be pursued; realize that you have not strayed too far from the right path, and understand that what is right today was wrong yesterday."

Upon hearing this, Yue Buqun's eyes flickered slightly as he pondered the meaning of those words.